ELASTOPLASTIC TROUSER TEAR TESTING OF SHEET MATERIALS

An elastoplastic analysis of trouser tear testing is presented and dif ferences from the Mai-Cotterell rigid-plastic analysis [1] are highlig hted. In particular, the simple linear plot of the latter for tearing force per unit thickness against leg width proves to be a curve with a lower intercept for fracture toughness, since the radius of tearing i ncreases with leg width. Furthermore, the curve passes through a maxim um and the tearing force decreases at very large leg widths owing to t he effects of elasticity. Experiments on NS4 aluminium alloy and on 64 /36 brass sheet (including the effects of anisotropy) confirm these re sults.